Moving On
by bre.laverne
Summary: They found her body in the Mystic Grill, his at Whitmore. They were never waking up, never coming home. With Stefan and Elena dead, and Damon and Bonnie still gone, Caroline, Enzo, Alaric and Jeremy are left picking up the pieces of their lives without their best friends. Will they survive the loss of their family and their hometown? *Rated M for future content.
1. Never Say Never

_AN: I've had the idea for this story for awhile, and I finally found time to write it! Anywho, I would love if you would review (seriously, it like, makes my day). I'm thinking of making a playlist for this fic? If that is something someone would be interested in! As always, pm/review, follow, fav anything you want, I hope you enjoy this one!_

"Grief doesn't change you, it reveals you"

-John Green

The cool air hit her back as she stood, swirling down the gap between her tank top and her skin. It spun across her face, cooling the path tears had made on her skin.

"Here" His voice fell soft on her ears, his usual harshness fading as he offered her a tissue.

Placing a warm hand on her shoulder, he drew her in, wrapping his arms around her back.

He smelled like aftershave and grass, his skin warm against hers.

"No one should be in pain and alone, love. Even if they are mourning someone who killed me."

Sarcasm laced the end of his words, falling warm against her ears.

She pulled away slowly, leaning on him, one of his arms still around her shoulders.

"I miss them, Enzo. I'm about to start at a new college, change my major, move into the Salvatore house. Everything in my life is changing. I don't want to- I can't just leave them behind. They were my best friends." Weight pooled in her lungs as she spoke, each breath more painful than the last, heavy in her chest.

Enzo started back at her, silent and still.

"Life has to go on, love. You will never forget them, but you can't let them keep you here." His hand pulled her chin up, her blue eyes pooling with tears.

"When I found out Maggie died...I. It was hard. You have to honor them by living your life Caroline. Stefan and Elena would want that So would Bonnie. Maybe even Damon."

She tensed as their names fell from his mouth.

Her chin trembling she nodded, drawing away from him as she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes.

"Yea. Thanks, Enzo." Her smile got lost in sadness as she spoke, falling from her face like a bird shot out of the sky. They turned away from the graves, Caroline blowing out the candles lighting the small tomb, the last of the summer sunset filtering through the stained glass, lighting dust spinning in the air around them.

"It got cold fast this year." His voice muffled through the wall, he walked in circles around the tomb, examining it.

"You're going to miss out on the glory of a long Mystic Falls Fall this year." She leaned from the doorway as she spoke, watching him take off his coat and lay on the cooling ground. "What are you doing?" The beginnings of laughter colored her voice, warming it.

"I spent years in a cell Caroline, being outside is something I now choose to cherish."

Concern knitted her brows together, her mouth opening as if to comfort him, shutting before she any sound escaped.

The ground was hard as she laid down next to him, staring up at the cotton candy sky.

"I love when the sky looks like food."

Laughter bubbled out of Enzo, overflowing as he doubled over.

"Caroline Forbes, that is the strangest thing you've ever said. Besides. We're vampires, technically the sky would have to be red to be food colored. He only laughed harder as she stuck her tongue out at him, glaring as she twirled a flower between her fingers.

His laughter slowing, Enzo leaned over, tucking the another of the purple flowers behind her ear.

She smiled, tossing grass at him.

"Now we both have nature on us."

Enzo rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to speak.

Instead his eyes fixed on the tomb behind her, his eyebrows raised as shock flung itself onto his face, his mouth hanging open.

"What is it Enz-"

Caroline dropped the flower she held, her hand covering her mouth as tears flooded her eyes, her chest heaving as she fought to stand.

"What is this? I leave for three months and the two of you become nature loving hippies?" Damon's eyes widened as the joke fell out of his mouth, his audience to astounded to laugh.

"Seriously Damon. You should have started with hey I'm home, or something moderately normal or non derogatory."

A sob bubbled from Caroline's throat, her knees caving as Bonnie emerged from the tomb, dragging a tied up boy behind her. Enzo knelt beside her, glaring at Damon, his eyes glittering.  
>"Your silence is less than enthusing"<p>

Damon crossed his arms, his voice warm as he teased. Bonnie glared at him, the tied up boy matching her expression. Enzo rose, walking the short distance to throw his arms around Damon.

"It's good to have you back, brother." His voice broke on the last word, Caroline shattering as she realised they were really home, corporeal and safe.

Bonnie handed the kid to a teary Damon, running to Caroline's side. Throwing her arms around her, the girls stayed that way, locked in position, holding each other together until the tied up kid coughed, rolling his eyes.

"Enough mushy nonsense, do we ever get to find out if the brother and the girlfriend made it back? We never saw them, and I am oh so curious to see if they stayed dead." He cut off when Damon rammed a fist into his stomach, throwing him against the tomb wall. The boy continued to laugh, wheezing, and doubled over from the punch.

Damon met Caroline's eyes, his face blank. She shook her head and he rammed a fist into the tomb wall.

"We found her body in the grill, his at Whitmore, they died like humans, must have been something to do with them being dopple-" Enzo cut off as Damon motioned for him to stop, doubled over against the stone of the tomb.


	2. When You Wish Upon A Star

He cut off when Damon rammed a fist into his stomach, throwing him against the tomb wall. The boy continued to laugh, wheezing, and doubled over from the punch.

Damon met Caroline's eyes, his face blank. She shook her head and he rammed a fist into the tomb wall.

"We found her body in the grill, his at Whitmore, they died like humans, must have been something to do with them being dopple-" Enzo cut off as Damon motioned for him to stop, doubled over against the stone of the tomb.

_He could feel it rising in his chest, the raw agony of it bending him in half. He tried to breathe, his throat shrinking as the waves of heat swam over his body. Vaguely, he could feel his hand pressing against the wall of the tomb, the stone cool against his hand. Is this how it feels to be burned alive? His chest burned like he'd been shot, his lungs aflame as he tried to think about standing up, taking a step, anything to get out of this moment. All he could see was the fading light of the summer sunset. How swiftly summer faded, how swiftly the world kept turning. It felt like he'd fallen off. His world had died. Blood dripped from his other hand as his nails dug into his skin, the pain nipping at his palm. The muscles in his arm clenched, aching to tear apart anyone in his way, anything. To kill and destroy and hurt until he could flip the switch and not feel anything anymore. _

A cool hand landed on his arm, her strength lapping at him as if she was the last drop of water and he was in desert. She said nothing, her own eyes welling with tears as she stood, ignoring the slumped figure at her feet.

"I'm sorry" It came out as less than a whisper, her voice cracking like old pavement as she spoke.

"You lost them too" He seemed more surprised the words had made it past the rock lodged in his pin-hole tight throat. Bonnie wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her in return, pulling her into him so tight she could feel her lungs trying inflate, stopped by the hardness of his chest. He was hot against her, warming her down to her toes.

Caroline made her to them, resting a hand on Bonnie's back.

"Jeremy-"

Bonnie's face stopped the words dead in her throat, tears cascading down her cheeks as she turned to face Caroline, pulling away from Damon.

"Jeremy." It fell from her mouth as a whisper, though Caroline could hear her heartbeat speed up as she spoke. She kept mouthing his name as she stood.

"He's at Matt's house"

Enzo glared at Caroline through her fake sweet voice, her attempt at cheer lost on him.

"Maybe we should call first?" His voice was so low Bonnie couldn't hear, lost in imagining the moment that had kept her sane over the summer.

Damon brought the waking boy to his feet, towing him behind him as he walked.

"Why would we call first? Is something wrong with little Gilbert?" Damon's voiced was heavy with fear, falling hard on the group. Bonnie met Caroline's eyes, panic widening her eyes.

"He hasn't been sober since you disappeared, thats for sure." The edge had returned to Enzo's voice. "Ow!"

Damon looked up just as Caroline aimed a kick at Enzo's shin. He frowned, shoving the kid towards the parking lot.

"Well, lets go sober him up."

Caroline and Enzo glanced at each other, the steel in Damon's voice sending tremors down Caroline's spine. Curiosity crawled across her face, pulling her eyebrows up.

"Who is that? And why is he tied up? You can't just tie innocent people up Damon, I can't believe Bonnie would let you do tha-"

She was silenced by Damon's glare, his mouth opening as he kicked the boy to a walk.

"This is Ki, evil power stealing, mass murdering witch boy that tried to kill both of us. Bonnie only let me tie him up because she wouldn't let me kill him."

He glared at her, his voice pointing up at the end, as if he lightened the insult. Ki's face spread into a slow smile, his smile sending an eerie light into his eyes, though his gag kept him from speaking.

Bonnie ignored him, walking towards the parking lot of the cemetery, her vision tunneling around the pathway, as she walked, her body numb.

"It seems so stupid now, how when I was younger all I wanted was a love that made my heart stop and my world turn upside down."

Caroline's laugh fell cold and flat on the room. Her glass hit the wood of the coffee table with an empty clank. Glass clinked as she refilled it, her hand shaking as she drained yet another glass of bourbon.

Enzo shifted in his seat,, the cold leather creaking under his weight, his mouth drawn tight against anything he might say to comfort her. She stared into the raging fire in Salvatore living room, her knuckles white, gripping the crystal glass as if the pain in her knuckles could erase every other part of her. Boards squeaked as Damon sauntered in running a hand down the back of the couch as he walked towards his almost empty bottle of booze.

"Stealing alcohol from friends. Uncool." He grimaced as she picked drained the last of the drink, her eyes unwavering on his.

"It's uncanny." Damon shrugged, slumping onto a chair by Enzo.

"What's uncanny?" Enzo met Damon's gaze, envy tightening in his dark eyes, the cold beginnings of rage boiling low in his stomach as he watched Damon watch her, her lithe form swinging as she stood to grab another bottle of bourbon. Damon was at her side, tilting her

chin up, in an instant. She froze, her fists tightening in fear and anger as a thumb stroked her cheek.

"You should never play poker" The comment caught them all off guard, Caroline jerking herself away from Damon as Enzo's face knit in confusion.

"Enzo, have you ever noticed how our little Care-bear's eyes get all bright blue and stormy when she's hurting?"

Straightening in his chair, Enzo eyed Damon as Caroline sat back down, his fingers digging into the chair.

"Shut up, Damon." Caroline tossed him a feral glare, downing another drink as she sauntered over to the IHome on a nearby table, "my best friend and my-. My best friends just died. And I start my pre-med classes at Mystic Falls U tonight I'm going to drink and get drunk and if you don't like it, you can leave." Damon raised an eyebrow as she flipped through songs, settling on Taylor Swift's "Blank Space."

"You do remember that this is my house, don't you?" Damon glared at her from his spot near the fireplace. "Isn't it a bad idea to drink the night before class?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, picking up her full glass as she danced around the living room.

"You know Bonnie and Jeremy are having a lot more fun than we are right now."

Enzo slammed his glass on the table, glaring at Damon and Caroline.

"I know it was oh-so-sad but you can't let your world stop because they died. You're acting like the love of your life just died. You have to move on and let your life settle around you."

Caroline softened, leaning against a chair, her hands pressing into the back of it. She picked a hand up to drain her glass, though it shook, almost spilling down her shirt.

"Let my life happen, Enzo? Life doesn't work that way. My life doesn't work that way. The world keeps spinning, even though he- they died, but I feel like it stopped spinning. Life is scary, life is dark, and he was my light, do you have any idea what it's like to have someone tear the light out of you, Enzo? It burns like he's still here sometimes, like I had the sun inside of me and now my heart is sunburnt. How do I move on from that? How do I grow up and move on and go to college and do normal things when I had the sun inside of me? He was a star, and he burned right through me. So fuck shooting starts, the only thing I can think of when I see them is how it feels to have one tear all the way through my chest and out the other side."

Damon flinched as she spoke, shrinking as each word hit him like a blow to the chest.

Enzo stood, his fists clenched.

"He?" It hit her gut as she realized what she'd said.

"Enzo..." She stopped as he stormed from the room, Damon stared after him, still and silent.

Caroline fell in on herself, sinking into chair as she digested what she'd said.

"I-I" Words shrunk back down her throat as it shrunk, becoming pin-hole thin as she tried to speak.

"You don't have to explain it to me." Damon's voice was quiet, edging the line between talk and a whisper.

He walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder as she cried. She slid her hand over his, tears sliding over her cheeks as they sat in silence. They didn't move that night, staying silent until the sun slid into view.


End file.
